Why loan agency services need power as well as expertise

In these times of widespread economic crisis, the pressure is on to execute commercial finance fast through specialized lending facilities. But, with large syndicates and miles of red tape often to be managed, transactions can be complex to administer.

Expertise is vital, but so are powerful systems. Where do you turn when agency processes aren’t as streamlined, efficient and transparent as they could be? Turn to Virtus from FIS.

Millions of payments on broadly syndicated, leveraged, middle-market, and club loans are made and matched every day, with emerging technologies like APIs and AI driving the transactions. But the administration of these loans often relies on antiquated systems.

Most communication between administrative agents, syndicates, and borrowers happens over email, with some notices to borrow, repay, or reprice the debt still being sent by fax. This manual process of sending messages back and forth extends the time to execution.

Slow processes for completing KYC checks and tax forms can further delay the onboarding of loans. And even when the debt trades, settlement periods are also longer than for other liquid markets.

While most securities transactions now settle within two business days of their trade date, syndicated loans typically aim for five – but average out at more than seven.

In light of these obstacles, your best bet for fast execution is to engage an independent or third-party agent .

With specialist expertise, dedicated resources, and no conflicts of interest to juggle, this type of non-financial institution isn’t hemmed in by the same tight regulations as large banks. That means it can work much faster and with greater flexibility – and develop nimble, highly customized solutions for its clients.

Now, a new breed of independent agent is in an even stronger position to take on the operational challenges of 2020 and beyond – thanks to the power of its proprietary technology.

Virtus from FIS combines best-in-class, expert services with best-in-class, in-house software. We can steam through your onboarding, settlement, accounting, and administration processes with new speed.

And when your software is part of a wider ecosystem of lending and risk solutions, there are even more opportunities to provide a highly leveraged and efficient end-to-end service.

At the same time, you can significantly improve the transparency of the complex lending life cycle for the multiple stakeholders of syndicated loans.

The game-changing innovation that is making this happen is the self-service portal, which will essentially allow syndicated lenders to log on and verify their own positions, rather than waiting for a call or email.

But with ongoing product development driving solutions forward, you could say the modernization of loan agency services has only just begun. If these solutions come backed with their own sophisticated suite of lending, risk and other financial software, independent loan agents also have the potential to enrich their services with analytics on loan, credit and other financial data.

In a traditionally slow, complex and opaque market, look no further than the digitally -driven loan agency service for optimal efficiency, clarity and insight offered by Virtus from FIS.

Doesn’t the future look brighter when it’s powered by advanced technology?